Ritual For Mabon

I’ve done it. I’ve finished my first written ritual and I’m very excited to share it. This ritual, as some of you may recall, is for Mabon, and I found myself needing to do some research before writing this ritual.
From my research, I found out that Mabon is the second harvest and celebrates the harvest of apples and grains. It also focuses on thanksgiving and honoring trees. I decided to try to incorporate all these elements in my written ritual.
As some of you may recall, Kansas spent most of the summer in a drought this year. This affected the growth of crops, and while we had a harvest, it was not the best it could have been. Still, I am thankful for the harvest that did occur and still think it is important to thank Spirit for this. Another idea of Mabon that I tried to incorporate was the idea of asking for the harvest to be strong next year. I felt like this was necessary, so I made it a big part of this ritual. I hope you all enjoy reading this and I hope it is helpful to those who are looking for ideas for their own Mabon rituals, or those who may like to practice the ritual I have written.

Blessed Be

Mabon Ritual

Items: one corn dolly for each person, corn bread for liberation/communion, Apple cider for liberation/communion, quarter representations, bowl

Location: Anywhere, but after ritual, you will need to find a garden to place the blessed corn dollies in. This can be a personal garden, or a community one. One that grew food to be consumed is preferable.

1. Cast circle and call quarters.

2. Have each person hold their corn dolly in their hands. Imagine the strength of the harvest as a bronze light and put that light into the dolly. Imagine the bounty of this year’s harvest, and all the food it has produced. Imagine then, the bounty of next year’s harvest. Have one person say the following blessing, or take turns saying it in a group line by line:

Spirit of the great harvest, we thank you,

Many blessings you have bestowed in view.

Our crops that have grown great and mighty tall,

We now take joy in harvest for the fall.

We ask blessings upon this our off’ring,

So our next harvest will new bounty bring.

May this blessing bring crops that are so strong,

That we may take part in them all year long.

3. Hold hands over the pitcher of apple cider and say:

With this drink from the apples of the Earth,

May we never thirst and all have great mirth.

Pour apple cider into cups and pass them to each member. Have each drink some, but leave some in the bottom of their cup. Pour the extra into the bowl.

4. Hold hands over the corn bread and say:

With this bread from the strong grains of the Earth,

May we never hunger and have great mirth.

Pass the bread to each of the members, and put some into the bowl.

5. Close quarters and close circle.

6. Pour the contents of the libation bowl by a tree. Take blessed corn dollies and put them in a garden.  

Inspiration

So, perhaps it is too early to be thinking about Mabon. This year it is on the 22nd of September, and while some may think this is early, I’m a bit of a planner. Not to mention, I was asked to help write the ritual for my pagan club on campus. In truth, I probably won’t be attending this ritual, since I might be going back home that weekend to see my friends, since the holiday falls on a weekend. But I offered to write a ritual and give it to one of the other members so that she can modify it as she sees fit. I mainly decided to do this because I haven’t written a full ritual for a group and I figured this is the best way to expand my writing skills along with my spiritual ones. Maybe it won’t be the best ritual I’ve ever written, but it will be a start, and we all have to start somewhere when we begin new tasks.

So, for the blue moon that occurred on the thirty-first of August, I made a bottle for inspiration to help spark some ideas and hopefully give me a little help. In this bottle I put the following ingredients:

Lavender and chamomile, ground with mortar and pestle (scents that inspire me)
Metal clock gears (for the working and turning of imagination)
Rose perfume (another inspiring scent)
Light of a flashlight (which I shined to illuminate the bottle)
Green ribbon tied around the top (Green for the growth of ideas)
Parchment scroll, with the spell written on it

At first, I thought I would write some lines of inspiring writing from writers on the parchment, but then I decided against it. I decided my spell needed to be something I wrote, and that I needed to find the words to kickstart my own writing and imagination. This bottle, I think, has already had some effect on me. My use of words in my writing has excelled, and I am very excited to do some research and write my very first group ritual.

Maybe, in a couple of weeks, I will be able to share it here. If not in full, I’m sure I’ll share its progress. Till then, my readers.

Blessed Be